Hundreds of demonstrators continue the round-the-clock occupation of the Wisconsin State Capitol building in defiance of orders to leave. Capitol Police have refused to enforce Gov. Scott Walker’s demand after hundreds of peaceful labor activists, students and supporters held their ground. We speak to Wisconsin Democratic State Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, who was among those to stay overnight in the Capitol building. [includes rush...

Rank-and-file union members are among the thousands protesting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s "budget repair" bill that would strip public workers of their right to collective bargaining. In this web exclusive video from the streets of Madison, Democracy Now! speaks to union members who have come from around the state, and as far away as California, to march in solidarity. [includes rush transcript]

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin State Assembly has passed Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public employees. The measure has sparked an unprecedented 11 days of protest in the capital city of Madison and across the state. Broadcasting from the Capitol Rotunda in Madison, we speak to The Nation magazine’s John Nichols. [includes rush transcript]

Thousands of workers and labor activists have descended on Madison since last week, calling on state lawmakers to reject Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-union bill. Although police officers and firefighters are exempted from key provisions of the bill, they have joined the protests in large numbers. We are joined by Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Wisconsin Professional Firefighters Association. “There is not one public employee...

Wisconsin senate Democrats have stalled the anti-union bill by fleeing the state, thereby denying Republicans quorum for a vote. On Thursday, Wisconsin police were deployed to retrieve the absent Senate Democrats at their homes without success. We speak to Democratic State Senator Chris Larson, who has fled to Illinois. [includes rush transcript]

Wisconsin police officers have participated in the Madison labor protests, not only on the job as public security, but also as demonstrators. "Law enforcement officers from all across the state are proud to stand with their fellow devoted public employees," says Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association. "We have been very impressed by how peaceful everyone has been." [includes rush...

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the lobbying offices of the Koch brothers in Madison on Thursday. "The Koch brothers have funded a lot of anti-union, anti-worker legislation not just here in Wisconsin, but across the country," says Elizabeth DiNovella of the Madison-based magazine The Progressive. "People in Wisconsin are here to say that Walker needs to get over his Koch addiction and to really respect workers’...

Public employees, labor activists and students have been filling the hallways of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the past 11 days. Hundreds of people have slept inside the Capitol building each night. So many people are staying here that protesters have begun building impromptu dining areas, a lending library and a medic center. Democracy Now! senior producer Mike Burke and John Hamilton receive a tour of the building from an activist...

In Madison, Wisconsin, record numbers of protesters have entered the 11th day of their fight to preserve union rights and collective bargaining for public employees, inspiring similar protests in the states of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. The protests have also helped expose the close ties between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers who helped bankroll the Tea Party movement. On Wednesday, blogger...

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